


we're not broken, just bent

by MajorinMonster



Series: hold me tight and don't let go [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Slash, but also gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-19 21:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1483981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajorinMonster/pseuds/MajorinMonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It doesn’t take long for Steve to realise Bucky didn’t actually tell him what time they should meet. Resisting the urge to smack his head against a wall he makes a detour on his way home, walking past the coffee shop from the address card in his pocket.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we're not broken, just bent

**Author's Note:**

> Ta-da! A sequel! Title is from Pink's Just give Me a Reason, I think the song fits these two :) The ending feels a little rushed so it might be changed a little along the way. I'm larakickasscroft on tumblr btw.

It doesn't take long for Steve to realize Bucky didn't actually tell him what time they should meet. Resisting the urge to smack his head against a wall he makes a detour on his way home, walking past the coffee shop from the address card in his pocket. He already knows he’ll be there from opening to closing, just in case. The opening times are displayed on the front door in stark letters. _5am_ , Steve thinks, _is not the earliest I've been up. It’s worth it._  Although really, what sort of coffee shop opens at half five in the morning? It’s not like it matters though, Steve doubts he’s going to sleep tonight and he’d never sleep again if it meant he had his best friend back.

He heads home. He makes a dinner he doesn't eat, turns on the TV, stares at it blankly for half an hour. As a man out of time Steve feels qualified enough to state that time has never moved so slowly, time has never been so annoying. He’s sure the clock on the wall is mocking him with its stupid ticks and obnoxious tocks.

By the time he’s lying in bed, blank eyes glaring at the ceiling, he is so restless he has rolled over ten times in the past two minutes. It doesn't take a Tony Stark level genius to realize that sleep is not a thing he’ll be doing. He gives it five more minutes, closing his eyes and relaxing like his mother had always told him to do, before giving up. He swings himself out of bed, shoves his feet into socks and shoes and throws a shirt and jacket over his bare chest.

If he isn't going to sleep the least he can do is patrol the streets, maybe prevent a few muggings.

“It’s gonna be a long night,” He sighs, shutting the door quietly as he leaves his apartment.

By the time dawn comes and goes Steve is more beat up than he expected to be and yes maybe he got too cocky this time. He really should have thought to bring his shield with him.  It’s almost half five though and Steve hopes the waitress doesn't mind the shallow stab wound and bruises because he doesn't really have time to head home. As soon as he walks through the door a bell pings in the upper corner and the woman at the front counter raises her head, eyes still droopy with sleep. She’s tall and pretty, with thick eyelashes and long hair. She sees him, and then the blood and her jaw drops.

“Don’t panic,” He winces, hoping he isn't still bleeding. That could mess with his cover story.

“Oh my god,” She breathes, “Oh god, I’ll call an ambulance, oh gosh, just sit down, oh wow, I’ll-“

“No, really,” Steve laughs, aims for a self-depreciating smile, “I’m an extra on a movie set, I just haven’t had time to wash up, I’m sorry,”

She pauses, narrows her eyes at him.

“I’ll just sit in the corner, really,” Steve forces a laugh, “If that’s ok, I’ll clean any mess I make myself,”

She’s still staring at him and Steve gets the feeling he messed up somehow but the woman relaxes slightly, still eyeing his stab wound.

“I just cleaned those tables,” She says abruptly, “You, mister, are not dirtying them,” Steve blinks. He feels guilty but he isn’t leaving, he can’t, not when this is the only connection he has to Bucky right now. “I’ll get you a cloth and some water,” The waitress moves into the back room and Steve stands there awkwardly, sort of shifting from foot to foot like a guilty school boy.

“I’m Maria,” She says as she strides back into the room, arms over flowing with items. She puts them down on the table with the grace of someone who has carried hot drinks for a long time.

“Steve,”

“No kidding,” Maria snorts, shaking her head as she tries to suppress a smile. Steve wonders if she’s guessed who he is, but he doesn't think so, surely she would have said something? He doesn't bring attention to it though, just in case.

“Right, water bottle,” She conjures a bottle from somewhere and hands it to Steve, nodding at the towel on the counter, “Clean off,” Steve nods, awkwardly wondering if he should take his shirt off. The shop is open now and anyone could walk in. Plus, if she doesn't know who he is and she actually believes his half-hearted lie Steve is _pretty_ sure the actual stab wound might change things.

“Err,” Steve scratches his head awkwardly.

“Oh please,” Maria throws a bandage at his head, “I’m not an idiot. No one comes in here at this time, don’t worry about your virtue, get that blood sorted before it gets on my floor, and for god’s sake take an acting lesson if this is the way you want to play things,”

Steve grins, unable to help himself, and strips his shirt over his head.

“You don’t…” He clears his throat, “This won’t make you uncomfortable?”

“Honey please,” Maria flicks her blonde hair over her shoulder, “I prefer girls, though I can appreciate the view,”

Steve blushes and clears his throat, “Thanks,”

“Nah,” Maria leans back against the counter with a happy sigh, “Thank _you_.”

“Could I ask a favour?” Steve asks suddenly. Maria sweeps her hand in a ‘continue’ gesture, “There’s a man whose meeting me here,”

“Oh I see,” She laughs, delight brightening her eyes.

“Oh, no,” Steve cringes, realizing how that sounded without context, “I mean, maybe. But that’s not this; I mean this isn't about that. We need privacy,” She wiggled her eyebrows and he could feel the blush colouring his cheeks, “I’d like to pay for an entire days’ worth of drinks; if you’d close up shop after he arrives?”

“Oh honey,” Maria coos, “Anything for those blue eyes,”

He’s sitting in the corner nursing a cup of hot chocolate and nibbling on a pastry when Bucky comes in. He stops in the doorway and scans the room quickly. It’s small so there isn't much to see, just five tables spaced out across the floor, the counter that Maria is sat behind and a slim door into the back room. Steve knows Bucky has seen him, probably knew he was in there before he even entered the shop. Maria looks up with half of a smile, ready to greet the new customer. If Steve was anyone else he maybe wouldn't have noticed how her eyes widened and then flickered to Steve. He looks back at Bucky but he doesn't see anything that would have alarmed her.

He’s wearing a thick coat over a hoodie and the same baseball hat he had on the night before. His hair is pulled back in a pony-tail and his jeans are black and scruffy. _His stance_ , Steve thinks, _is what gives him away the most_ , _as something more than a civilian_. His back is ramrod straight, eyes unblinking as they lock on Steve.

“Okay,” Maria cut through the slightly awkward silence, “Coffee?” Bucky shakes his head, eyes still on Steve.

“Please,” Steve clears his throat, nodding at the chair across from him; he’d left the corner seat empty on purpose, knowing Bucky would probably prefer a view of the entire room without making himself vulnerable to windows or door ways.

Bucky sits and they stare at each other for a moment before Steve glances at Maria.

She’s watching them with barely concealed interest, eyebrows raised as she sips at her own chocolate.

“Ah,” Steve smiled at her, “Would you…”

“On it,” She chucks the keys towards Steve, freezing when Bucky’s hand shoots into the air to catch them without even looking towards Maria, “Hmm,” Maria moves backwards towards the door, looking slightly uncertain, “Give me a shout, before you leave,” And then she’s gone, as Bucky stands to lock the door and turn the sign ‘open’ to ‘closed.’

“Why?” Bucky asks as he sits back down.

“You chose this place because you've either researched it or you know Maria, you know it’s safe enough to talk, that it isn’t bugged,” Steve has been considering this all night so he has a pretty good explanation if he does say so himself, “You wanted to talk in private but with people around though I haven’t figured out why yet, but I trust you and even though I've only just met her I trust Maria,”

“People needed to be around because they’d be potential hostages,”

Steve stares, heart plummeting.

“Not like that, idiot,” Bucky shakes his head, leaning back in his chair until he can stare at the ceiling for a moment, “There are people after me, the remainder of S.H.I.E.L.D for example and they’re less likely to shoot with civilians around.” He shrugs, “Cold but effective,”

“Bucky…”

“Look,” Bucky snarls, “I told you I was different, I thought you said you could handle it?” He stands abruptly, as if to leave but Steve lunges forward and grabs him. He’s lucky Bucky can fight instincts as well as he can and all the other man does is shove him away. Steve can tell by the off look on his face that the Winter Soldier wanted to do a little more than that.

“I’m sorry,” Steve is desperate, he can’t let Bucky leave, “Don’t leave me, please don’t leave me,” He doesn’t care if he sounds ridiculous, if he’s over reacting. Steve never wants to be without him again, he doesn't want to know what it feels like to watch Bucky walk away again and be unsure as to whether he was coming back. His heart calms when Bucky sits down again, though he doesn't move his chair closer to the table.

“Ok Steve, alright,” There’s a crease between his eyes and his mouth in scrunched to the side as he watched Steve carefully, almost as if he expects Steve to have an asthma attack, “The super soldier serum, that cleared up the asthma right?” _Ah_ , Steve thinks, that explains that.

“Yeah,” Steve’s relief shines through his grin, “I’m in the all clear, have been for a while now,”

“Tell me everything, starting with why you wince when you move and why there are bloody tissues in the bin over there,” Bucky says it as a statement but Steve knows it’s partially a question and he doesn't mind answering. Even if the latter part of the answer is a little embarrassing.

“Alright,” He pushes his hot chocolate closer to Bucky, along with an apple Maria had given him before Bucky came in, waiting until Bucky breaks and takes a small sip before he starts. It’s going to be a long day and it’s time Steve took care of Bucky for once. 


End file.
